The ushering of first-year Chemical Engineering students into university learning has evolved significantly and culminated in major developments in student academic performance when four top teams recently competed in a thrilling final of the department’s design competition.

The department’s First-Year Level Coordinator, Ayesha Reiners, said the students had been conducting an integrated project since February as part of a teaching and learning strategy to develop graduate attributes. “The topics in the project were carefully selected to address real-life problems often confronted by chemical engineers in the industry,” Reiners said.

She added that the topics were designed around themes such as waste management, renewable energy, electrochemistry, water purification, Ion separation and biofuel synthesis.

The grand finale was in the form of high competitive exhibitions. The winning team developed a novel method of extracting lead from an aqueous solution onto a bio-sorbent. The team managed to extract more than 95% lead from a synthetic solution. The runner-up successfully converted used cooking oil to biodiesel achieving a 100% conversion.

Student Namhla Siboya said the ground-breaking project managed to combine both education and fun into an instinctive and positively refreshing learning experience. “We had great tutors and mentors who constantly pushed us to do our best,” said Namhla.

Retired CPUT Chemical Engineering Lecturer, Bruce Hendry, was one of the adjudicators. Hendry said he had an exciting experience with the students and was impressed with their projects. “I was also impressed by the preparations behind projects,” he said.

Reiners added that the project runs throughout the year and is embedded in most subjects. The students work in teams with lecturers mentoring them. Students report back regularly in a collaborative seminar. They are given feedback during the seminars but are encouraged to work independently. “This is to inculcate a culture of independent learning, problem-solving, teamwork and engineering design amongst other attributes,” she concluded.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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Challenges based on The Apprentice reality show has helped give a group of CPUT students a project with a purpose.

First-year marketing students recently competed against each other for marks over the three-week-long assessment.

All promotions took place at the Cape Town Campus and were planned, designed and orchestrated by the students themselves.

“The students had to create the design and layout of their brand as well as creating awareness of it,” explains lecturer Ayesha Reiners.

“They had to do everything from advertising and fundraising to establishing social network sites to promote their brands.”

Each group had to elect its Chief Executive Officer who then appointed students into specific roles in their team after going through their CVs.

Without a Blink Production promoted photographer Luke Jansen by printing and selling mocked-up versions of magazine cover pages for R10 each to students.

Another team, Centre Stage Promotions, promoted performing artists and featured a guest performance by new Hip Hop sensation Swiff D who set the Student Centre alight with scintillating tracks from his album, Death to Life.

Copies of the album and drinks were given away to entice the audience.

Written by Kwanele Butana

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The creative juices have been flowing in the Chemical Engineering Department where first year students have created eye-catching displays to draw attention to the water crisis.

Engineering communications lecturer Ayesha Reiners said students were required to do research on the water crisis in Cape Town as part of their first assignment.

“The groups of students then had to use this knowledge to create awareness of the current water crisis in the form of a visual display in the Science building. The students illustrated this crisis in an original and fun way, yet also keeping it real. It was relevant to the CPUT community and they provided practical solutions for water saving on a daily basis," said Reiners.

Students also came up with creative ideas to lead people to their displays. For example, a trail of emoticons lead to one display, and another group used blue ribbons – similar to the pink ribbons for breast cancer – to draw attention to the cause.

One of the displays was a dripping tap that the students designed themselves. Bright blue water was used to attract attention to the water dripping. This display created awareness of how a dripping tap can waste water. Another display used 25 two litre bottles to build a water fountain. This showed off the 50 litre allocation each person is allowed per day.

“Teaching and Learning doesn’t take place in the classroom only. It’s amazing how the displays drew attention from the CPUT public. The students were inundated with questions. The students succeeded in their task,” said Reiners.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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